Tower Press was a British

jigsaw puzzle A jigsaw puzzle (with context, sometimes just jigsaw or just puzzle) is a tiling puzzle that requires the assembly of often irregularly shaped interlocking and mosaicked pieces. Typically each piece has a portion of a picture, which is comple ...

and games manufacturer, most active from the 1930s until 1969 when they were bought by

Waddingtons Waddingtons was a British manufacturer of card and board games. The company was founded by John Waddington of Leeds, England and the manager, actor and playwright Wilson Barrett, under the name ''Waddingtons Limited''. The name was changed i ...

. By the early 1960s, they were the largest jigsaw puzzle maker in the world.

History

The company had its origins in the

Isle of Man The Isle of Man ( , also ), or Mann ( ), is a self-governing British Crown Dependency in the Irish Sea, between Great Britain and Ireland. As head of state, Charles III holds the title Lord of Mann and is represented by a Lieutenant Govern ...

. They began making cardboard wearings in the 1930s but were best known for their jigsaw puzzles and later children's games. They made a jigsaw puzzle range named "Riders of the Range", and also made games such as '' Ask Pickles'' (1948), '' Inspector Brown'', and many others. By the early 1960s they were the world's largest maker of jigsaw puzzles. They purchased Budgie Toys, which was said to also be a serious competitor to the Dinky and

Corgi The Welsh Corgi ( or Corgi, plural Corgis, or occasionally the etymologically consistent Corgwn; ) is a small Dog type, type of herding dog that originated in Wales. The name ''corgi'' is thought to be derived from the Welsh language, Welsh w ...

lines in the 1960s. In 1969, shortly before the acquisition by Waddingtons, Tower Press were cited as "the most impressive example of the QE2's selling power" when they sold over 150,000 jigsaw puzzles of Queen

Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 19268 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. ...

and were expected to sell a further 50,000.

References

Card game publishing companies Board game publishing companies Playing card manufacturers Manufacturing companies disestablished in 1969 Jigsaw puzzle manufacturers {{UK-manufacturing-company-stub